


Saviours Sometimes Come in Pairs

by oliviacat3



Category: House M.D., Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Family, Feels, Memory Magic, Snowing - Freeform, captainswan - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:00:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 15,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26448193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oliviacat3/pseuds/oliviacat3
Summary: House x Once Upon A Time. All rights for the characters and places go to the writers of the corresponding shows. Only the storyline is mine.**********Allison Cameron and Emma Swan are twins.When Emma and her family take a holiday to Princeton, they end up needing the expert care of Doctor House and his team. They meet Allison and a simple test proves that they are related. The twist--nobody from the Enchanted Forest remembers her.**********This takes place after the end of Season 7 of OUAT (Henry leaves Jacinda and Lucy behind) and after Cameron and Chase's wedding in House. The timing makes more sense when you read it.Go and check out my other OUAT fanfic, Walking in Darkness
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7
Collections: Once Upon A Time Fanfics





	1. Prologue

Snow screamed as she felt a burning pain, squeezing her husband's hand until he was sure it was broken.

"I can't have this baby now!" Her voice was strained in pain and hysterical from the worry about her child's future.

"Doc, do something," David said, supporting his wife as much as he can. Doc wiped Snow's sweaty forehead with a flannel. David turned back to Snow. "It's going to be okay. The wardrobe is almost finished. Just hold on." Snow breathed heavily, the pain exhausting her. She screamed again as another contraction hit, stronger this time.

Just then, Geppetto hurried through the door, a smile etched on his face.

"It's ready," He said, gesturing through the door. Nobody needed to ask what he meant. David moved to pick Snow up, but Doc stopped him.

"It's too late," he says, his voice laced with worry. "We can't move her." David stood back and Doc turned to Snow once more. "Push!" He cried, and Snow used the last of her energy to push her child from her body, sagging back onto the bed when she was done. David wrapped her in the homemade blanket and placed her in Snow's arms. David kissed Snow's head, one arm around her shoulders and the other supporting his new-born daughter. Despite the situation, both wore smiles a mile wide.

Snow's faded as a realisation hit her.

"The wardrobe...it only takes one." She looked up at David, but shouting from the other side of the door interrupted and they both looked up.

"Then our plan has failed," David said, keeping an eye on the door. He needed to protect Emma. "At least we're together." He put his arm back around Snow, trying to comfort her, it didn't work. Emma's cries echoed through the room, drawing attention to them.

"No, you have to take her. Taker the baby to the wardrobe." Tears poured down Snow's face as the reality of what she had to do hit her.

"Are you out of your mind?" David protested immediately. He knew they could take care of their daughter.

"No, it's the only way. You have to save her." David barely let her finish before he interrupted once more.

"No, no, no. You don't know what you're saying." He thought the stress of the situation must be making her think irrationally. They couldn't give their child up.

"No, I do. We have to believe that she'll come back for us. We have to give her her best chance." David's face creased with tears, his strong outer shell gone. He kissed Emma's forehead.

"Goodbye, Emma," Snow said, smiling through her tears. She mimicked David before handing Emma over and kissing him. One final goodbye. She watched, helpless, from the bed as David grabbed his sword and left. She knew Emma would be safe with him. She curled up on the bed, sobbing. She hoped she never had to do something like that again. 

I am hoping to update every Sunday, but that might change because I have GCSEs this year. I'm not sure how long this is going to be yet. 

Please comment any thoughts and vote :)

oliviacat3


	2. Chapter 1

Emma

I throw the last suitcase into the boot of bug, shoving it down as hard as I can to get it to close. Killian comes out the door with Hope on his hip, locking it before coming down and kissing me on the cheek.

"Ready, love?" I smile at the endearing nickname. It will never get old. I nod and take Hope from him, strapping her into her car seat as I call Regina with my other hand.

"We're just leaving. We'll be over in five minutes," I say as soon as I hear the click on the line that shows she picked up.

"Good morning to you too, Emma." I can almost hear the smirk in her voice.

"Sorry. It's been a really hectic morning. Are you guys ready?"

"Of course. We don't have any new-borns to worry about. Your parents have been here ages."

"Well, see you in five. Sorry again." I take the phone away from my ear and hang up before she can say anything else. We're already running late, and a phone conversation will just make it worse.

We pull up at Regina's five minutes later and I feel even worse, because everyone is stood out front waiting for us.

"Finally. Let's go." Not one to mess around, Regina herds Henry towards the bug, before leading Mum, Dad, and Neal to her car.

With time to stop and think while Henry sorts himself out, I turn my sights to our holiday. We're going to New York for two weeks, so that Henry and I can show everyone around. It'll be nice to take a break from Storybrooke, as I think we all need it. Regina has left Zelena in charge, as she's the only person she trusts to run everything smoothly.

With everyone ready, Regina gives me the signal and I pull away, closely followed by her black Mercedes. 

Cameron

I shove my bag into my locker and grab my lab coat before hurrying up the three flights of stairs to House's office. I'm not sure why I'm rushing, as it's only eleven, so House won't be in for a while yet, but I still do.

Robert, Foreman, Taub and Remy are already there but, as I predicted, House is nowhere to be seen.

"Allison, where have you been?" Robert asks me, worried. We both went into the locker room together, but I had some stuff to take care of, so told him to come up without me.

"I just wanted to put my hair up and stuff. Don't worry." He looks like he wants to carry on the conversation but I change the subject before he can. "Have you found any cases House might like?" Remy shakes her head.

"Nothing. At least nothing he would find remotely interesting." Just then, Cuddy comes through the door.

"As House isn't in yet, three of you can come to the clinic and two can help in the ER." She walks out without waiting for an answer and Foreman is the first to speak up.

"Cameron and Chase, you guys help in the ER. We'll go to the clinic. Meet back here at noon." We all grab our coats and do as he says. Technically, he is now our boss until House makes an appearance.

At noon, we reconvene back in the office and gossip, waiting for House to turn up. 

Emma

We sit in my bug in silence. Henry is entertaining Hope in the back, and Killian is looking around wondrously at the sights of Princeton. We couldn't find anywhere to stay in New York, so this was the next best place. I stop at a red light and look over at Killian when I feel his gaze on my face.

"What?" I ask, keeping one eye on the traffic lights.

"You lived here?" The awe in his voice is quite funny. As a thought pops into my head, I check the wingmirror to make sure Regina is still behind me with my parents and Neal. She's following me as she has no idea where she's going.

As the light turns green, I take the handbrake off and pull away. I'm driving past the crossroads when I notice a car that must have skipped a red light coming towards me from my left. I don't have time to swerve out of the way.

It smashes into my side of the car with a force so strong the bug spins round, catching Regina's car as well. The entire left side of my body feels like it exploded but, through the haze of pain, I notice that Hope and Henry seem OK and sigh with relief. With my right arm, I manoeuvre my phone out of my jacket pocket and dial 911. As the pain slowly worsens, I don't get the chance to say very much before I black out. 

Cameron

"New case," House says, limping through the door and throwing the pile of files down on the table in his usual fashion. "34-year-old female victim of a car crash." I read through the file and notice nothing out of the ordinary. Foreman obviously agrees with me, as he asks House.

"So, why are we taking this case. She's a victim of a car crash. Everything can be blamed on trauma." House smiles, his eyes lighting up. Oh God. Something he's seen interested him.

"Well, come with me, and I'll show you." He walks back out the door, and the sound of chairs scraping fills the room as we all rush to follow him.

We come to a room in the ICU, but I can't see the person in the bed because she's surrounded by people. As we walk in, they step away and we all gasp when we see the person in the bed. She's a mirror image of me. I take a few steps backwards, giving her companions a chance to make the connection. Luckily, she's still unconscious, so I don't have to deal with that yet.

I step further back before turning and running out of the room. My lab coat billows around me and I nearly trip in my heels, but I don't care. How is this possible?

I don't even know where I'm running until I come to a door and realise that I've come to the locker room.

I open my locker and look in the mirror. My face has drained of colour and my hair is tousled from running as fast as I could through the hospital. Everyone probably thinks I've gone mad, but I often run around for something or other, so maybe not.

I notice a movement in the corner of my eye and swivel round to come face to face with House. I sigh.

"What do you want?" His face is, as always, unreadable.

"You know, I liked you more when you were subjective and stayed a piece of art in the lobby," He says, quoting himself from when he told me why he hired me. I sigh and he carries on. "Judging from your reaction, I'm guessing you didn't know you had a twin. You go get the family history. I'll get Chase and Foreman to interview the other victims and Thirteen and Taub can search the home." He limps off towards the elevator, probably on the way to sit in his office doing nothing. 

Emma

I slowly come to, vaguely aware of the needles in my arm and the thing in my nose that helps me breathe. My eyes flutter open to see Killian looking at me worriedly. He smiles when he notices I'm awake.

"Swan! Are you okay, love?" At his question, I notice a dull pain down my left side. My arm is in a temporary cast, and I can feel the pressure of bandages as well.

"I'm fine," I say hoarsely, the memory of the crash coming back to me. "How is everyone else? Is anyone else hurt?" He shakes his head.

"You got the main blow, because the car drove into you. Your boy has a fractured wrist because he was on your side, but everyone else is fine. They went to get a drink." His accent soothes me, but I don't get a chance to carry on the conversation, as the door opens. My eyes widen as I look to see who it is. The woman stood in the doorway looks almost exactly like me. Her blonde hair is in a ponytail down her back, but I can tell it would be wavy like mine. Her eyes are the same shade of green and even the way she puts her hand on her hip is the same. The only difference is her clothes. She dresses like Regina under her doctor's coat: a blue blouse is tucked in to smart black trousers, and is buttoned up all the way to her throat. You wouldn't see me dead in something like that.

"Who are you?" I ask, too gobsmacked to say anything else.

"I was wondering the same thing," She replies, smiling a sweet smile at me. Okay, maybe not exactly like me, then. Before I get the chance to speak again, she continues. "I'm part of Doctor House's team. He's your doctor. My name is Doctor Cameron."

"I'm Emma Swan," I say, before realising that my name is the first piece of information in my file. "But you already know that." She nods.

"Sorry. It must be really weird to meet someone who already knows your name." I smile, but it quickly turns to a grimace as a sharp pain shoots through my broken arm and I cry out. Killian grips my hand tighter, and Doctor Cameron jumps up and strides round to my other side, suddenly very authoritative and collected and much more like me. "What's wrong?" 

Cameron

I double-check all of Emma's vitals as her face creases in pain, but everything seems normal. I pick her arm up from the side of the bed and a small noise escapes her lips, although she's clearly trying not to make a fuss. I tell her husband to wait here for news before switching the gathering of the family history for getting an x-ray.

I hurry through the corridors, pushing Emma's bed in front of me. I rush her to radiology to see what's happened, since it's her broken arm. I give her some more pain meds through the IV line to take away some of the pain, but it shouldn't have been too bad since she was already on some, so I am worried.

I check her x-ray and find that her bone has shifted in its temporary cast. It will need realigning before she gets her permanent cast, which she now needs as soon as possible.

I give her the news and ask a nurse to get me some plaster and bandages. Seeing the look on her face, I assume she knows what she's in for when I realign it, but I warn her just to be safe.

"This is going to hurt." I do it as quickly as I can, blocking her scream of pain from being acknowledged by my brain, and put the cast on. She's chosen to keep it white, so there's no colour to add.

I head back to House's office, where everyone is waiting. House pounces on me as soon as I walk in.

"Did you get the family history?" I shake my head, internally rolling my eyes at his need for this. He doesn't even like patients' information.

"Her arm shifted so I had to realign it and give her the cast. Sorry."


	3. Chapter 2

Emma

The pain finally subsides, and I stare at my arm in its cast. Doctor Cameron comes in, smiling.

"I had to put your cast on early because of the shift in your bones, but after six weeks it should have healed nicely. You won't have to stay for all of that, as your other injuries are healing too. You'll probably be discharged sometime next week." It's good news, but she doesn't seem glad. Her smile doesn't reach her eyes.

"So what's wrong?" She shakes her head.

"Nothing. It's great news." She's lying. Not that it's great news, but she doesn't think it is.

"You're lying." She sighs.

"Obviously I'm happy you're getting better but I wanted to get to know you before you left. We could've tried to find our parents together." At the mention of Mum and Dad, I freeze. I want to tell her everything, but I should probably check with Regina. For the time being, I lie as best I can.

"Sure. We can switch numbers before I leave, if you want." I want to ask her to send in my family, but I don't want her to think I'm getting rid of her. She seems to read my mind, as she solves my dilemma for me.

"I'm done. Shall I send your family back in?" I smile and nod.

"Yes please." 

Cameron

I send Emma's family in and head to the bathroom. I need some time to think. I push the door open and walk in, glad to see that I'm alone. I lock myself in a cubicle and pull my knees towards my chest while sat on the lid. I lean my head on my knees, my thoughts racing faster than I can keep up with them. I know there's something Emma knows about our family that she isn't telling me, but I assume she has a valid reason for not doing so. She only met me today, after all. And I'm her doctor. I kind of wish she'd trust me, though. I get where she's coming from, but a sister would be great.

I emerge from the cubicle and approach the mirror. My hair is a mess from acting like a curtain while I was sat down, so I brush through it with my fingers and put it up to make it look decent.

I head back to Emma's room, hoping for the chance to talk properly.

When I get there, she's still talking to her family, so I stand in the corridor outside, not wanting to interrupt.

She notices me through the window and dismisses her family. Oh God. She's getting rid of them because she thinks I'm spying on them. I turn to run, something I seem to be doing a lot of lately, but she beckons to me through the window, so I turn and open her door gently and shutting it before I sit down next to her bed. Before I can say anything, she speaks, her face serious.

"You're not going to believe a word of what I'm about to say, and you'll think I'm crazy, but please listen to the end," she starts, earnest showing beneath her serious expression. I smile at her in encouragement, curious to hear this story that I'm not going to believe. "I'll prove it to you when I'm done, as long as you shut the blinds." I do as she says. Even though my rational brain tells me I shouldn't, my gut tells me I can trust her. "Fairy tales are real. Magic is real. My parents are Snow White and Prince Charming." That is not what I was expecting. She must notice the sceptical look on my face, as she chuckles. "I told you. Anyway, they were all cursed by the Evil Queen and sent to a small town in Storybrooke where they lost their happy endings. I'm the Saviour and broke the curse and, to cut a long story short, a load of villains attacked, I died and my son saved me and now here we are." She pauses for a moment, looking out the window. My jaw dropped a long time ago. If this isn't real, it's really well thought out. "Oh, and now the Evil Queen is the mayor of a small town in Maine where all of the fairy-tale characters live." She finally meets my eyes, smiling at my shocked expression.

"Now for the proof," she says, taking her right arm out from underneath the blanket on her bed. "Please don't go running. I promise this isn't a trick." Part of me is worried when she says that, dreading what she's about to do, but a bigger part of me is excited.

She opens the palm of her hand flat, and a ball of fire appears. I jump out of my seat, my hand flying to my mouth. A noise escapes my lips and my eyes widen. She immediately puts it out and reaches her hand towards me.

"See? Please believe me." 

Emma

I knew she wouldn't believe it. And now she looks terrified. I reach my hand out towards her, but she just recoils further.

"It's not burnt. Look." I turn my palm to face her and, if it's possible, her expression becomes more shocked.

"How?" She manages to say, her voice muffled from the hand that still covers her mouth.

"I told you. Magic. You just have to take a leap of faith and believe me." I know just how much I'm asking her to do, and feel like a hypocrite. I'm asking her to do the one thing I couldn't.

My parents come back in, and smile when they see Doctor Cameron's reaction.

"Doctor Cameron, meet our parents: Snow White and Prince David." She turns to see who has come in, and then glances between me and them a few times.

"But...you're..."

"We look the same age, right? Time froze when the curse was cast." She blinks repeatedly, but her next statement is completely off topic.

"We're clearly related. You shouldn't have to call me Doctor Cameron. My name's Allison." Allison and Emma. Emma and Allison. I repeat the pair of names in my head like a child, switching the order to see which sounds better.

"Thanks." I don't really know what else to say. She seems so much like me, but so different at the same time. Mum and Dad beckon everyone else in: Regina, Henry, Neal and Killian, who's balancing Hope on his hip.

"This is Regina, the mayor; Henry, my son; Neal, my uncle; Killian, my husband; and Hope, my daughter. Everyone, this is Allison. We've jumped to the conclusion that we're twins." I smile as they all shake her hand and introduce themselves. She's really good with Hope, and Neal.

Realising I haven't explained the parallels, I ask Allison to stay behind when my family leave, and explain who everyone is.

"Regina was the Evil Queen, but she changed when she adopted Henry. I gave him up, but then he found me when he was ten. Killian was Captain Hook, but he's changed as well." I laugh at her face. "Much better than wax moustaches and a perm, right?" She giggles, appearing much younger all of a sudden. "The kids aren't well-known, as they were all born after most of the movies." 

Cameron

My head is still reeling from the whole 'fairy-tales are real' thing. I don't know whether to trust her. She could be mentally ill, but the fire ball was very clever if it was a trick. I decide to find an excuse to do an fMRI and ask her to explain a bit more. At least then, I'll know whether she believes it or not.

I tell her, giving her some excuse about needing to check her brain function after accident. It's not a complete lie. There's no harm in checking.

"Maybe that's a true excuse, but why do you want to do it?" She pauses to wait for an answer, but it appears to dawn on her as a look of understanding crosses her face. "You want to see if I believe what I said because you want to believe it." Shocked, I do my best to keep my face neutral. How did she work that out from one sentence? I choose to ignore it for the minute and push her back to radiology, following the same path from yesterday.

I shouldn't really be treating her now, as Cuddy managed to get House to give up the case. He doesn't actually have any diagnosing to do, so it was pointless to waste his talent. However, we don't have another case yet, so I'm spending as much time as I can with Emma and her family and, supposedly, my parents.

I inform her of the procedure and start the scan, before sitting in the room behind the glass to see what happens. She starts explaining everything again, this time in more detail, without me even asking her. There is no overstimulation of the prefrontal cortex, so either this is true or she's delusional. I finish the scan and tell her, mentally deciding to keep this information from House. This'll just make him more interested in her again.

We stay silent as I push her back to her room in the ICU. She's nearly ready to be moved out, but Cuddy wanted to keep her there one more day. I use the silence to contemplate how I'm going to work out whether this fairy-tale thing is actually true. 

Emma

On our way back to my room, I realise that Allison still doesn't believe in my story completely. I can only think of one way to prove it to her beyond doubt, and that's with memories.

Bidding goodbye to Allison, I beckon my family into my room and tell them my idea. I'll need Regina's help to get materials, but it should be possible, even in this land.

I tell them as much, and Regina departs at once, telling me she'll come back as soon as she has everything.

While we wait, I hold Hope in my arms and make small talk with Mum, Dad, Henry and Killian. Having your parents, husband and son to talk to all at the same time seriously limits conversation topics.

Once Regina gets back, I hand Hope back to Killian and get to work, my hands working almost on autopilot as they follow the motion that they've done so many times before. Just because I'm not the Dark One any more, doesn't mean I forgot how to do it.

I hold up the finished dreamcatcher and, checking with Mum for permission, take the memories of their wedding and my birth. After that, I can use mine.


	4. Chapter 3

Cameron

With nothing else to do, I head back to House's office again, one hand resting on my pager. I'm waiting for the page from Emma telling me she has her proof, although I'm not sure why I've got my hand on it, as it doesn't vibrate.

Everyone looks up when I walk in, and I know I'm in for an interrogation.

"So," Foreman starts, getting a look from Robert that I can't quite place, "what did you find out?" Putting my lab coat over the back of the chair, I sit down and cross my legs. I think we may be here a while.

"Technically, she's not your patient anymore and she's not really mine either, so I don't have to tell you anything," I say, knowing without a doubt that House will think I'm insane if I even mention the magic thing.

"She's obviously found out something secret," House states, raising his eyebrows suggestively. I roll my eyes. "What is it, Cameron?"

Luckily, my pager bleeps before I have to reply, so I grab my coat and head out the door, shooting an apology—and a glare—behind me.

I arrive in Emma's room a few minutes later, and am surprised to see another woman—I think her name is Regina—still there. Emma is holding what appears to be a dreamcatcher, and she gestures to the seat next to her.

"Before I start, put your hand through here." She reaches for my hand, giving the dreamcatcher to her friend to hold, and puts my fingers through the middle. "I want to show you that it's not a screen, or a trick. Again, please don't freak out." From that statement, I jump to the conclusion that she's going to do more of what she believes to be magic. Although I can't for the life of me work out how it would work without it, I still don't believe the fireball was actually magic.

She waves her hand around the dreamcatcher and a gasp escapes me as an image appears in it. It appears to be a wedding, possibly of royalty, as there are two people stood in the middle of a massive room, surrounded by hundreds of people. Looking closer, I realise that the two people are the other two people who have been visiting Emma: the people Emma claims are Snow White and Prince Charming—and our parents.

I watch, transfixed, as they start their vows, but they are interrupted by a massive bang as the doors fly open to reveal a woman, who looks almost identical to Regina. It must be her. She strides toward the couple, the crowd parting for her like the red sea, and says something I can't hear. She's clearly threatening them.

The scene switches to a bedroom, ornate and massive. 'Snow White' is led on the bed, and her husband is holding her hand. Her face contorts in pain and her mouth widens, screaming. It takes me a while, but I realise she's giving birth. An old man comes in the door and says something. A conversation ensues, which ends in Snow White finally giving birth. The Prince kisses her forehead and she hands over the baby, before he heads out the door, stopping to grab a sword on his way out.

The memory follows him as he makes his way through the hallways, fighting guards dressed all in black while protecting his child.

He enters a nursery, the main centrepiece of which is a massive wardrobe fashioned out of a tree trunk. Fighting the last of the guards, he opens it and hurriedly places the baby inside, shutting her in. More guards appear behind him, and the scene fades as they stab him in the stomach.

Emma

As Dad's memory of my birthday fades, I look at Allison's face. Even though she couldn't hear what was being said, she seems to have gotten the gist of what was going on, and tears well up in her eyes.

"That's my parents wedding and my birth. If we're right in thinking that we're twins, it makes it your birth as well. It just means someone altered the memory." I pause, giving her time to take everything in. I hand the dreamcatcher to Regina, and she exchanges me for the one I put my memories into. "These are my memories, from my twenty-eighth birthday up to now." I wave my hand over it once more and hand it to her as the memories start showing, but I tune out. I don't want or need to watch, since I lived through it anyway. Especially as there are some memories in there I don't want to live through again.

It takes a while but, once the last memory has faded away, Allison hands me back the dreamcatcher. I transfer the memories back to my head, closing my eyes as they flash before my eyes in quick succession.

When I look at her once more, Allison has tears pouring down her face, even though she's trying desperately to stop them.

"You went through so much. How are you not broken by it all?" I smile, taking her hand in mine.

"Something my parents taught me as soon as the curse was broken—have hope, no matter what. Hope that things will be better. It sounds cheesy, but it's true."

I go to carry on but, before I get the chance to, she starts to say something, so I close my mouth and listen.

"I married a man dying of cancer when I was just out of university. He died six months into the marriage. House never tires of telling me that I am only interested in people I think I can 'fix'." I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't that. "If it's okay, I'm going to run a DNA test to confirm we're related." I nod but, as she goes to leave, an idea hits me and I roll my eyes at myself for not thinking of it sooner.

"When's your birthday?" Her head snaps back to look at me, and we both laugh as we realise how stupid we were to not think of it.

"October 22nd, 1983. What about yours?" I nod.

"Same day."

Cameron

Armed with the new knowledge about our shared birthday, I head to the lab to run the DNA test. Even though we all pretty much know the answer anyway, I want to run to the test to make sure.

It will take two days to get the results, so I leave the samples, grab my stuff from the locker room, and finally head home with Robert. I haven't been home in three days, since Emma came into the ICU.

When I get home, I realise quite how exhausted I am, as I fall asleep on top of the sheet without even taking my shoes off, or getting the chance to contemplate everything that has happened.

I wake up with the sun streaming through the window, in a different position to the one I fell asleep in. My shoes are lined up at the end of the bed, and I'm now under the duvet rather than over it. Robert must have cared for me after I fell asleep.

Pushing my hair out my face, I shove the duvet back and swing my legs out of bed. Robert emerges from the bathroom, a toothbrush lodged in his mouth.

"Thanks," I say, pulling a shirt out of the wardrobe. "For last night, I mean." He shakes his head.

"It was nothing. You were exhausted." I smile at him and head to the bathroom.

"Well, thanks anyway."

Emma

Two days later, Allison comes back, DNA results in hand. I haven't seen her as much since she started the test; she's been doing her job more thoroughly so she doesn't get fired. I'm also no longer in the ICU. She hands me the file with the results inside.

"I haven't checked them. I thought we should do it together." I raise my eyebrows, surprised she cares enough to wait.

"Okay," I reply. What do I have to lose?

She tears open the envelope and draws out the piece of paper. Honestly, we both are almost 100% sure what the result's going to say, but a definitive answer will be nice. As she's the doctor, she looks over the results, and nods when she nears the end of the page.

"Yep. We're twins." Hearing it out loud is very different to hearing suspicions, and my face breaks into a wide grin.

"Welcome to the family. Do you want to get Mum and Dad?" She hesitates, and I recognise her expression, having worn an exact replica when I first learned who my parents were. After a while, she nods, and goes to get them from the lobby.

She's telling them the news as they walk through the door.

"...were conclusive. I'm Emma's twin." Judging by the fact that she's switched to formal 'doctor talk', I'd say she's nervous to see their reaction.

As I expected, they immediately round on her with a hug, and she freezes, unsure how to react. I laugh at her expression.

"Mum, Dad, leave off her. She barely knows you." They retreat to the other side of the bed, shooting apologetic looks at Allison.

"Sorry." She shakes her head.

"It's fine. It's just, I'm still getting used to the fact that my family are fairy tale characters, that's all." She perches on the end of my bed, carefully avoiding me. "I think I believe you. But why was the memory of just your birth if we were born on the same day? What happened to my birth?" Thinking about it, that's actually a very good question, but Mum and Dad both shrug.

"I don't know. I don't remember having a second child. We should ask Regina. She basically coordinated that entire day." I nod, and catch Regina's attention though the window, beckoning to her with my finger. I seem to be doing this a lot lately. She and Killian come in, trailed by Henry.

"Do you remember anything about our birth day?" She raises her eyebrows at the word 'our' and I realise we haven't actually told everyone else what we found out. I answer the question before she can ask it.

"Allison ran a DNA test, so now we know we're definitely twins. So, do you?" She can't change the subject for too long. I know she finds it awkward to talk about, but something is missing here, and we need to figure out what.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N It's update day :)
> 
> I keep almost forgetting to update, as I have exams in school at the moment, but I have a few chapters prewritten. 
> 
> FYI, I used Emma's birthday because Cameron's is a guess whereas Emma's is exact, and they are only a few years apart anyway. 
> 
> Please remember to comment any thoughts.
> 
> oliviacat3


	5. Chapter 4

Cameron

"I just remember travelling to your mother's castle and finding her in what would have been your nursery. She was knelt over your father, who was almost dead, and I remember feeling angry because they had managed to get you into the wardrobe. I don't remember a second child." I haven't been formally introduced to Regina yet, but I already like her.

"Someone must have taken your memory along with everyone else's." Emma appears to be thinking out loud, so I don't interrupt, but most of what she says goes over my head. "The only magic-user close enough to do that would have been—"

"Rumple," Regina finishes, her shoulders sagging. "And he's dead." This is too much for me, so I speak up.

"Rumpel..stiltskin?" I ask, that being the only connection I can make between 'rumple' and fairy tales. Emma and Regina nod.

"He was the Dark One for many years, but died a hero, saving Nook." My confusion must show on my face, as Emma chuckles. "New Hook. But that's a long and convoluted story for another time." No one speaks after her, and I can almost hear their brains working, trying to figure out what they're going to do. Snow White—my mother (neither sounds right in my head) is the first to speak after the long silence.

"What about Gideon? Doesn't he still live in the Edge of the Realms. Maybe he can help." How many more people can they bring into this? The name doesn't ring any bells from the fairy-tales I know, but maybe I forgot it.

"Gideon is Rumpelstiltskin's son. Belle is his mother." This just gets more and more confusion, but Emma seems to get it. Based on her memories, she's been through the same thing.

"Belle as in 'Beauty and the Beast' Belle?" She nods, laughing.

"Yep. And, I hate to break it to you, but it doesn't get any easier. The further into it you get, the more confusing it becomes." Oh great. I already feel like I'm as confused as I could possibly get, and she's telling me it gets more confusing, not less.

"How long until I get out of here, anyway?" Way to change the subject. Still reeling from the overload of family tree information, it takes me a while to answer.

"Well, you'll need the cast on your arm for six weeks but your other injuries seem to be healing relatively well, so probably next week at some point."

Emma

Armed with the information that I should only have about a week left here, we abandon thoughts of a holiday and focus on finding Gideon.

"So how do we get to the Edge of the Realms?" I ask, looking pointedly at Regina. She seems like the person most likely to know, although Killian might as well. I'm still holding Allison's hand. I feel like a child, for the second time this week, but she looks so overwhelmed and was glad for the comfort.

"We'll need to go back to Storybrooke so that we can use magic, and then use a bean to get there." I nod.

"Okay. Allison, will you come with us?" The question pulls her out of a daze, and she blinks rapidly.

"Hmm? Sorry, I wasn't really listening."

"Will you come with us to find the memories?" She hesitates, and I realise that her life here must be pretty good. It's kind of the same dilemma I had after New York. "You don't have to decide now. You have a husband, right?" I wait for her nod of confirmation before continuing. "Talk it over with him, except maybe leave out the magic part." She nods again. Apparently, the overwhelming news as rendered her incapable of talking.

"Okay." She stands up and walks out, almost on autopilot. I hope she can figure it out.

Turning back to Regina, I focus on the plan.

"If I get out of here in a week, we'll be back in Storybrooke a day after that. We sort our stuff out and sleep the night, then leave at dawn for the Edge of the Realms." Mum puts her finger up, stopping my train of thought.

"Wouldn't it be better to wait until your arm is healed. Surely your magic is more powerful with two hands than with one?" Regina goes to reply, but I do before she can get there.

"I don't know, but surely the quicker we do this, the more likely it is to work? What if Gideon moves or dies or who knows what else?" This time, Regina interrupts before I can continue.

"Your magic would be more powerful with two hands than one, but it wouldn't be by that much. And I think you're right. Gideon is the only idea we have, so we should follow it straight away." 

Cameron

At home the next morning, I think of the perfect excuse for moving, which isn't 100% an excuse anyway. Robert killed that leader, Dibala, and now he's haunted by it, so I put the idea in his head over breakfast.

"We're going to be late," Robert says, before I can say anything. At least he instigated conversation, so it doesn't seem forced.

"Then we'll be late. You took a patient's life, you lied about it for weeks, you broke who-knows-how-many laws and oaths to cover it up, but I can live with it. We can get through it together." I don't want to mention moving straight away.

"You have no idea what I've been living with, and what it means to hear you sat that."

"But we have to get away from Princeton-Plainsboro. You can barely walk past the rooms where Dibala was treated. Why should we live with that hanging over our heads? If there was ever a time to turn the page..." I trail off. He knows what I mean.

We get ready for work and head in. Robert agreed with me, so we're going to tell them.

When we walk into the office, Cuddy is stood next to House, who is holding a bright white envelope. Foreman is sat at the table.

"House is back I charge," He says by way of greeting. "We get to treat a porn star."

"Congratulations," Robert says to House, smiling.

"Perfect timing for us," I add, thinking this is a good time to break the news.

"We're leaving the team and the hospital, effective immediately," Robert says, getting where I'm going with this.

"That's kind of sudden. Unless you've been circulating your resumes for a while." House broods, staring out the window.

"We're just starting to think about new jobs, where we want to live," Robert replies. I look at him pointedly, trying to convey 'shut up'. They don't need to know everything.

"Moving too. Interesting." Of course House finds it interesting. He finds everything interesting.

"Are you sure about this?" Cuddy asks, concern evident on her face. I smile and nod, and Robert answers her.

"Yes."

"Uh... We'll miss you." Foreman looks awkward, but it's nice of him to say that.

"We'll miss all of you too. We'll start clearing out our things." We walk out the door to the locker room, closely followed by Cuddy. 

Emma

Allison comes back in when everyone else is getting some rest in the hotel. She goes to check the clipboard hung off the end of my bed, before retreating and sitting in the chair next to my bed.

"I keep forgetting that I'm not treating you, sorry." Smiling, I shake my head.

"It's fine. I get it."

"I managed to convince Robert to leave Princeton, so I can come. Introducing him to the magic part will be interesting, though. He's spent the last nine or ten years in a fellowship to the most sceptical man you'll ever meet." She pauses, avoiding my eye contact.

"What is it?" I ask. There's clearly something bothering her, but I can't tell what.

"I think our boss—Doctor House—has changed him. For the worse. He killed one of our patients because he was going to commit mass genocide. I get why he did it, but that's murder. I told him that I could live with it, but I'm not sure I can. And I'm not even convinced he really wants to move. However much he doesn't want to admit it, he likes working under House. He only joined the surgical staff for a while because he was fired." I let her rant without interrupting. Thinking she's finished, I go to comfort her, but she carries on. "I told him as much. I think he's going to stay." Her eyes well up, so I reach out my hand to comfort her. I'm not really sure how, as I've never properly dealt with other people's emotions before. That's for Archie, and my parents.

She wipes her eyes with her finger, stemming the tears, and stands up.

"I'm going to go and say goodbye to House. I'll pack up tonight. Do you think your family will mind if I book a room in the same hotel as them so I can still visit you?" I laugh, unsure if she's joking or not.

"Two things. One: they'll be really happy because they'll be able to get to know you better and two: even if they weren't, they couldn't stop you staying at that hotel. It's a public place." She walks to the door, smiling once more before she leaves.

"Thanks, Emma."

Just as the door closes, I say after her: "Good luck, Allison."


	6. Chapter 5

Cameron

I say goodbye to House a few days later. Foreman managed to convince Robert and I to help him with one final case, because he had no one else to help him, and House held off the diagnosis to get some of his old team back. 

I'm a mess when I leave his office. I told him about how he ruined Robert and said goodbye, and he was indifferent. I know that's how he copes with things, but sometimes I wish he'd show some kind of emotion. 

Robert and I head home that evening in silence. I basically told him I was leaving and he could stay if he wanted, so he knows what's going to happen when we get home. 

I pack my suitcase alone. Robert is sat in the living room, staring wordlessly at the wall. I put on my jacket and zip up the suitcase on my bed. I've already booked the hotel, so I have somewhere to stay. I am going to have to work out how to visit Emma without being seen by any of the hospital staff, but I guess I could just video call her or something instead. 

I walk out of the bedroom door and into the living room, dragging my suitcase behind me. My hair is pulled back in a messy ponytail, and I've already started crying while packing my things. I stand the suitcase next to the table and hug Robert, dampening the shoulder of his shirt with my tears. Neither of us says anything. I pull away and reach for my suitcase, breaking the silence to say goodbye one last time before I walk out of the door forever. 

I make my way to the hotel where I've booked my room and, as luck may have it, Emma's family are in the lobby, on their way up to their rooms. They notice my tears and ask what happened, so I tell them the short version. My parents—which is still weird to think of these two people as—hug me, comforting me, and it reminds me of Emma's memory of killing her husband. 

Emma

My phone starts ringing long into the night, and my mind immediately jumps to the worst. I pick it up in a hurry, fumbling as I hit the 'answer' button. 

"Hello?" 

"Emma? This is your number, right?" I sigh in relief. It's just Allison. 

"Allison!" I exclaim. "How did you get my number?" 

"Your parents gave it to me. I managed to get a room along the same corridor. I can't come in because I left Robert and the team; made them think I was moving properly. Which, I guess, I will be once we go on this memory hunt thing. But almost all of the staff will recognise me if I come and visit. Sorry." I smile, hiding my shock that she's up and left almost her entire life in Princeton. 

"It's fine. Are you okay after all that?" I hear her laugh down the phone, but it sounds forced. 

"I will be. I just needed to get away. You never met House, but he corrupted the two people I worked with under him for years. I had to leave before he corrupted me too. He knew a diagnosis for a patient, and didn't tell anyone, just so that he could get his newer old team back. That's not right." Sometimes she surprises me, and shows me just how different we are. Her principles are really strong. I'm surprised she doesn't hate me for killing Cruella. That was in the memories I let her watch. 

"That's true. But would you not have considered killing a mass murderer as well?" It's the same kind of thing as that train problem I got asked when I was in one of the group homes. Push one guy in front of the train to save a train full of people, or do nothing and everyone on the train dies. 

She sighs heavily. "I did consider it. Heavily. But the difference is that I didn't. I stood by my morals, even after working for House for ages. Robert didn't: he actually killed him. If he'd left with me, I could've forgiven him. I mainly blamed House anyway, because he changed Robert into the person that killed the patient." I want to reach out and comfort her, but I'll have to wait until I'm out of here for that. I make do with trying to comfort her over the phone. 

"You did the right thing. Do you remember, in my memories, I killed Cruella de Vil?" She confirms that she does, so I continue. "I live with that. Every day. I nearly killed my best friend from foster care as well. Regina talked me out of it. I don't think I could've lived with myself if I'd done it. If you think leaving Robert is the right thing, then do, especially if he's staying and you want to come with us, but put yourself in his shoes. He's punishing himself over and over." There's a pause on the other end of the line while she takes in what I've said. 

"Thanks, Emma. That's really helped. Mum and Dad have already comforted me, which was slightly awkward, but I lived with it." I laugh. I can't believe she's calling them 'Mum' and 'Dad' already. It took me ages to get used to that. But it does sound just like them. Mum was comforting me over my love life before I even knew she was my mother. 

"You're welcome, Allison." 

Cameron

I spend the last few days before Emma is discharged working on a proper plan with her—our—family and getting more involved in their world. Although they spend a lot of time visiting Emma, they've organised it so that there's always someone to keep me company, even though I'm 34 years old. I feel like a burden, but everyone, Mum and Dad especially, spends half their time convincing me I'm not. 

On the day of Emma's discharge, they all head to the hospital, with promises that they'll come straight back. I smile, actually glad of the peace and quiet. After living pretty much on my own my entire life, to then live along the corridor from a massive family is a huge change. 

They let me wait in their room, and I use the time to look through jobs and apartments in Chicago. I've loved the area for ages, and the rational part of my brain wants to plan for the outcome that Emma and her family are insane and none of this confusing crap is actually real. 

There's a knock on the door about twenty minutes after they left, and I narrow my eyes. They can't be back already, can they? 

I open the door, and almost laugh at my idiocy when I see the hotel cleaner stood there. 

"Come in." She smiles at me, but doesn't really talk, focused on doing her job. She doesn't have much to do, as they've barely unpacked, and I've cleaned up a bit since they left. I don't have much else to do with my time. 

Almost as soon as the cleaning lady leaves, Emma and her family come back. Emma is in a wheelchair, as she fractured her leg as well, and can't use crutches due to her arm. 

Judging by her expression, she'd much rather be self-sufficient, and I wouldn't be surprised if she tries to get out of the wheelchair earlier than she should, but she appears to be handling it for the minute. 

"Allison, how are you?" She says as soon as she notices me. We've tried to call every day, even though it's only been five days, but it hasn't happened every day. She's helped me avoid any members of staff, and has purposely not addressed me by my name on the phone if there's a member of staff in her room. It sounds excessive, but I want to give the impression that I have completely moved on. 

Emma

I hate having to use this wheelchair. I can't even push myself around because of my arm, which the doctors said is going to take slightly longer to heal after it shifted. I'm glad it'll heal more quickly once we get back to Storybrooke and places with magic. 

Everyone else is lounging on the beds, and we discuss leaving for Storybrooke this afternoon. It's about a seven or eight hour drive, so we're hoping to drive straight through: only stopping for snacks or bathroom breaks. For obvious reasons, I won't be driving, and Killian can't drive, so Regina is going to drive me, Allison, Killian and Hope in my bug, and Henry is going to go with Mum, Dad and Neal in Regina's car. 

It's strange to think that tomorrow, we'll be travelling realms to find lost memories. That still doesn't feel completely right, so I can't imagine how surreal it must feel for Allison. Actually, maybe I can. Fighting a dragon without fully believing in magic is an interesting experience. 

We finalise our plans, briefly discussing what we're going to do if Gideon doesn't have any idea how to help us. We don't even contemplate time-travel, even though I'm sure it enters most of our minds. After mine and Killian's adventures in the past, we never want to do that again.   
No one has any brilliant ideas, as Gold—Rumple—wasn't really close to anyone except his wife and son. The best we have is to go back to the castle and see if Regina can remember anything. It's almost definitely going to fail, but we have nothing else. 

Cameron

We leave straight after lunch that afternoon. I laugh when I see Emma's car. It's not anything like what I imagined her to have. She gives me a playful glare. 

"Sorry," I say sheepishly. This is what I imagined when I pretended that I had siblings as a child: the playfighting and banter. I'm in the back squeezed between the Emma and her daughter, Hope. She let her husband sit in the front with Regina, and she had to sit by a door so she could transfer from her wheelchair more easily. She's so different with her daughter: so much more like me. Just because we look the same, doesn't mean we are, but she reminds me of me when she cares for her daughter, and I'm more like her when I'm not with House. 

We stop every so often, when either Neal or Henry need the loo, mainly. Emma has a walkie-talkie, and so does Dad, so they use it to communicate, since both boys are in the other car. We sit pretty much in silence. Regina is focused on driving, Emma's daughter sleeps for most of the drive, and it feels awkward to talk in an otherwise silent car. 

After about 9 hours, having stopped multiple times, we pull to a stop on a road in the middle of the forest. Emma turns to me. 

"We're here." I look around in surprise. I can't see anything. No one is getting out of their cars, so I stay where I am, and gasp in amazement as Regina hands me a scroll and a sign appears to the right hand side of the road. It reads 'Welcome to Storybrooke'. On the road in front of us is a line chalked in bright red. We drive over it, and Killian quickly gets out and throws the scroll towards Regina's car, wincing as it bounces off the bonnet, and the other car follows us. 

We drive a bit further down the road, and a small town comes into view. It captures the whole 'fairy tale' vibe perfectly, and almost looks like it's been stuck in time. I feel like we've travelled back in time to my old history textbook, except for the cars parked on the side of the street. 

"Wow."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't think this is going to be much longer as I don't want to prolong it unnecessarily. Let me know what you think :)


	7. Chapter 6

Emma

Seeing Allison's reaction to Storybrooke is amazing because it's so different to what mine was. She knows all about the fairy tales, and that's the reason she's here, whereas I was only focused on getting Henry home, and not getting emotionally connected. Which, you know, failed, but I tried. 

We decided to all go to mine and Killian's house, before splitting up to go to our relative houses for the first good night's sleep I've had since we left. Allison is staying with us in our spare room, and Henry is staying with Regina so that our house isn't overcrowded. 

We chose our house because Regina can drop us here and then drive her car to drop Mum, Dad and Neal home, before finally taking herself and Henry home. We had to think about it, because out of our entire group, only me, Regina and Dad can drive. I don't know if Allison can, but we never asked her. 

Regina pulls up by the white picket fence and stops the engine, pulling the keys out and chucking them to Killian before she gets in her car. I thank her through the walkie and say night to everyone in their car. Then I have to get Allison to help me into the wheelchair. Back in a world with magic, I turn the steps into a ramp to avoid that problem, and Killian follows us up with Hope on his hip. 

Killian puts her to bed almost straight away, showing Allison her room at the same time. I take one look at the stairs and decide not to attempt them, even with magic. I'll sleep on the sofa. It will mean I won't get the good night's sleep I was so looking forward to, but it'll only be for one night. 

Killian helps me into my pyjamas, comforting me when I complain about how embarrassing it is. I feel like a two-year-old. Hopefully I'll get used to it soon but, even with magic, it's probably going to take a week or two for my leg to heal, and a few days longer for my arm. 

Cameron

When I help Emma get around, I try to make it feel like I'm not doing very much, so that she feels more independent. Seeing her look in horror at the staircase kind of makes me feel sorry for her, but she's already established that she doesn't want anybody's pity. 

Her husband, Killian, shows me the spare room, where they've insisted I sleep. I offered to keep Emma company in the living room, but she wouldn't hear of it. 

The night passes uneventfully, and we all gather outside Emma and Killian's house in the morning, ready to go to the Edge of Realms. All of these fairy tale things still sound strange in my head, and I can't imagine how overwhelmed Emma was when she discovered they were real. She had to fight a dragon, like, two seconds after Henry proved they existed. 

Regina is stood at the front of our group and turns to face us, magic bean in hand.

"Ready?" Everyone nods or shouts some kind of confirmation, so she throws the bean. My eyes widen as a massive swirling hole of reds and yellows and golds opens in the air in front of us. Killian steadies his hands on Emma's wheelchair, having left Hope in the care of Regina's sister, Zelena, the Wicked Witch of the West. Mum and Dad left Neal—my brother, who is thirty years younger than me (which is terrifying)—with her too. 

We step through the portal as one unit, surrounded by bright light. As the light clears, I take in our surroundings. We are stood in the middle of a clearing, enclosed in a ring of tall, leafy trees that block out the sun, casting long shadows in the grass.

"Is this the Edge of Realms?" I ask, awed by the beauty of the clearing. If it is, it's nothing like I imagined. Emma nods, her face a mirror image of mine. She's clearly never been here before either. 

"It's at the end of time and space," Regina explains, walking towards from the front of our group. "No one knows how much time will have passed when we get back. It could be a second, or it could be hundreds of years." I breath out sharply, laughing. 

"How is that possible?" 

Emma

I share Allison's bewilderment at the way this place works but, unlike her, I don't really care. I tune out of Regina's answer which, judging by its length, doesn't actually explain very much. 

"So, where does Gideon live?" I ask, bringing everyone's focus back to the task at hand. 

"He said to stay where the portal opened and he'd come and meet us. I don't know how he'll know where we are, but I think we should just stay here." Regina seems very well-versed in the plan, and appears to have contacted Gideon at some point as well. 

As promised, Gideon appears through the trees after about five minutes. He looks almost exactly like he did last time I saw him, when he killed me, so I flinch. I have to remind myself that he is not that person anymore. Killian looks over at me, reading me like an open book. 

'Are you okay?' He mouths at me, concern evident on his face. I smile and nod back, convincing myself as much as him. 

"Hi. I'm Gideon, Rumpelstiltskin's son. What can I help you with?" He introduces himself to me first, holding his hand out to me. I take it in mine, shaking it, and look at Regina in confusion. She shakes her head, but I make a mental note to ask her later. Does he not remember anything that happened before he got his second chance? 

"We were wondering if your father left any of his memories with you?" While he introduces himself to everyone else, Regina is very straight forward in asking what we want. He nods. 

"Yes. If you want to come back to my home, I have a shed full of dreamcatchers with memories that belonged to him and other people. Can I ask why you want them?" At this point, Regina beckons Allison and I forward to introduce us. 

"Well, I'm sure your parents told you about Emma Swan, the Saviour." I feel my face heat up, and look down at my lap. He must give some kind of confirmation, as Regina continues. "Well, we discovered that she has a twin." I look back up to see his reaction, and almost laugh as his eyes widen, mimicking a face that we've all made at some point since we met Allison. "This is Allison Cameron." She smiles and gives a small wave. Gideon goes to ask something, but Regina doesn't notice so carries on. "But in our memories, none of us remember her being born before or during the curse. We assumed that your father had something to do with that absence." 

Cameron

We follow Gideon through the trees. It feels more comfortable, as almost everyone has never met him before, so I'm not the odd one out in that sense. Regina knows him, so she is engaged in conversation, her hands flying around to emphasise her point. She looks more comfortable talking to someone more like her. I know she likes talking to Emma for that reason, and Emma reciprocates the feeling. 

They slow down as we approach a cabin, almost hidden by the canopy of trees. It's on stilts, and stands regally above the floor, which is littered with leaves. It looks like it came straight off a post card. 

"Welcome to my home," Gideon says, turning away from Regina and facing us, his arms making a frame around his cabin. Emma laughs. 

"It's beautiful, Gideon." She looks happy, but her eyes betray her, confusion written all over them. I pull her aside as subtly as I can. 

"What's confusing you?" She looks up at me. I didn't want to crouch down in case she thought I was being patronising. 

"Remember when my memories showed me getting stabbed?" I nod and she carries on. "Gideon was the one who stabbed me. It's a long and convoluted story but, long story short, he was magically aged and turned dark by the Black Fairy so, when we defeated her, he turned back into a baby and got a second chance. I thought he'd remember what happened but apparently he doesn't." I carefully make my face blank, stopping it showing the barrage of emotions attacking my mind. What do you say to someone when they say something like that? Like, 'oh, by the way, he's the guy who stabbed me last week'. 

Apparently, she doesn't have anything else to say, as she stays quiet, letting a comfortable silence envelop us. Gideon and the others have gone on, so we hurry to catch up, me pushing Emma in front of me. Regina hangs back a bit to wait for us, prompting everyone else to do the same. 

Emma

Allison pushes me forward, past Regina and into Gideon's cabin. The inside is just as rustic as the outside, as if it's come straight from the early 1900s.

"Take a seat," Gideon invites us, gesturing to the large centrepiece sofa. "My father left two sheds full of dreamcatchers: one of his own, and one of other people's. Since you were born just before the Dark Curse, I'll check the latter first, as he would have been locked in his cage still." He turns on his heel and walks out the back door, not giving any of us a chance to do anything except stare dumbly after him and wait for his return. 

After five minutes, I decide to do something while I wait, so I turn to talk to Allison. 

"How are you coping with the whole 'fairy-tales-are-real-and-my-parents-are-Snow-White-and-Prince-Charming' thing?" 

She laughs, a carefree laugh that leaves you no choice but to join in. "Alright," She replies after a while, having composed herself. "Although, when you put it like that, it sounds utterly unbelievable and I feel like I might be going mad." 

I smile. "Tell me about it," I reply, remembering the day I broke the curse and believed in magic. "I fought a dragon and saved my son and still wondered if it was all in my head. It takes a while to get your head around." She sighs, and I take her hand in my uninjured one. "It'll become easier. Everything gets more confusing, but you stop wondering if you're actually insane and learn to roll with it. Promise." 

She smiles. "Thanks, Emma. It's true though. I've been a doctor for nearly ten years, and seen many people who believe certain stories are actually true. I've always dismissed them and referred them to a psychiatrist, but that means I'm mad now as well." I know what she means. However different the jobs of doctor and bail bondsperson are, they both require evidence and logic: the complete opposite of what living in a fairy-tale demands of you. 

Before I can reply, however, Gideon comes back in the door, dreamcatcher in hand. 


	8. Chapter 7

Allison

I welcome Gideon's interruption, not sure where my conversation with Emma would have gone if it had carried on. The fact that he's holding a dreamcatcher seems to be a good sign, although the expression on his face makes me think twice about my evaluation.

"This is the only one I found," He announces, jolting everyone else out of their thoughts and conversations. He turns to his left, holding it out in front of him. "It's yours." The look on Regina's face is enough to tell the room that she never knew her old master took one of her memories.

"Mine?" She asks incredulously, her eyebrows rising in surprise. She recovers quickly, schooling her face back into her trained blank mask, and holds the dreamcatcher out in front of her, ready to show everyone whatever she's lost. It strikes me as very brave that she's letting all these people see it when she doesn't know what it is herself. "Well, let's get this over with."

She waves her hand over it, mimicking Emma's movements back in her hospital bed in Princeton, and an image appears in the centre. It depicts a nursery, identical to the one in which I saw my father shove my sister into a wardrobe before getting stabbed. This time, however, my mother is sobbing over my father's body, the door of the wardrobe hanging off its hinges showing that my sister is long gone. The most striking part of the memory, however, is that another child is swaddled in my mother's arms, the pure white homemade blanket obscuring its face.

"Is that me?" I ask, the words slipping past my lips before I can stop them. Nobody replies; everyone is too engrossed in watching the memory unfold.

Since this is Regina's memory, I assume we are looking at the scene from the perspective of the Evil Queen. She's stood the other side of Snow and David from the wardrobe, reveling in the pain she's caused. Snow uses the last of her strength to propel herself towards the wardrobe. She places the child—me—in it and flings the door shut, holding it in place to stop it from falling to pieces. A whoosh of magic echoes through the nursery as a cloud of purple smoke starts leaking through the windows, before the scene slowly fades away. 

Emma

As the scene fades away, I look at Regina in confusion.

"I thought the wardrobe only took one," I say, mulling the thought over and over in my head, trying to find a loophole. "And how come Allison didn't appear in the same place as me and August." She shakes her head, her face a mirror image of what I imagine mine to be like.

"I have no idea." Although it's not obvious, I know her well enough to read her like an open book, and I can tell she's annoyed at herself for not having an answer, and wants to find it quickly. You can almost hear her brain working, mulling over and over her memories to try and find the loophole.

After a while, in which no-one has said a word, she looks back up at me. "The only thing I can think of is that, because both of you were so small, you didn't count as a whole person so you could both go through but, because Allison took the total up to slightly more than its limit, it malfunctioned and dropped her in New York instead." Because none of us can think of any explanation that works better, we all agree. Gideon is the first to show his approval.

"That's the best we've got, so we'll go with it. Regina, do you remember properly now?" By the look on her face, I assume she does. The confusion has vanished, and been replaced with pure horror. Her face has drained of colour, and her fingernails are digging into her forearms so far, I'm surprised she's not drawing blood. Her gaze doesn't move from her feet, so clearly her newfound memories did not portray her in a good light.

"Yes," she whispers, only gripping her arm tighter. I wheel myself to her side and carefully unravel her fingers before she does draw blood.

"Hey," I say, forcing her to bend down to look at me. I really cannot wait to be out of this chair. "Whatever happened then, you've changed. We know that you have: you prove it time and time again. What did you remember?" 

Allison

I watch the conversation between Emma and Regina, smiling to myself at their similarities. Even though I haven't been a part of their confusing, dysfunctional world for very long, I can tell through Emma's memories and the stories she's told me about Regina that they are very similar. 

"What do you remember?" Emma raises her voice so that everyone can hear the question she asks. Regina's face has gained some of its colour, so clearly Emma's words had some kind of impact on her.

"Snow, you managed to make your way to the nursery you had prepared, where David had previously taken Emma and placed her in the wardrobe. As you all saw, the wardrobe was broken, and Snow had to hold the door closed in order for it to work. That's probably the reason Allison didn't appear in the same place as Emma and August. That was the point when the curse surrounded the castle and took everyone to Storybrooke." My brain works in overdrive, as it has been frequently since I discovered magic existed, to make everything make some kind of sense in my brain.

"But how did the wardrobe work if it was broken and had already taken its maximum load? That just makes it make less sense," Emma questions, her brow furrowing in confusion.

"For once, I'm just as clueless as the rest of you," Regina says, referencing the fact that, apart from Gideon, she's probably the person here who is most experienced with magic. Everyone laughs, and I look from Emma to Regina and back again.

Henry notices my confusion and, to fill me in, whispers, "When the third curse was cast and me and my mum returned to Storybrooke, everyone thought my other mum had cast the curse, except my mum." He pauses, realising quite how confusing it is to have two mums directly involved in this story. "I'll just call them by their names. Everyone believed Regina had cast the curse except Emma, who called a town meeting. That was when Regina said what she's just quoted, except no one believed her so she pretended to turn back into the Evil Queen and then met Emma in her office. That's the short version." If that's the short version, I dread to hear the long one.

By this point, everyone has stopped to wait for Henry to fill me in, and I feel the blush spread across my cheeks as I notice everyone's gaze landing firmly on me.

"Carry on," I mumble, not wanting to seem bossy, or be the centre of attention for any longer.

"I don't know anyone more knowledgeable in magic than Gideon and myself," Regina starts, carrying on her train of thought. "Since Rumple died of natural causes, the darkness was released and not passed on to anyone else, so there is no Dark One to ask. Gideon being his son is the closest thing we have, and I can help because he was my magic tutor."

Emma

I try to block out Regina's incessant thought trail to work through my own. Even though I haven't known the magical world anywhere near as long as Regina has, I was the Dark One for a while, and like to think that I do know quite a bit.

Maybe there's an exception to the rule of the wardrobe for some reason, like the fact that Dark Ones can only be controlled by their dagger if they're in the same realm. Or maybe Regina's explanation is right, and a new-born doesn't count as a whole person, and the broken door explains the change in location.

"Gideon, what do you think?" I ask, addressing him as the only link we have left to Mr Gold. No matter how long I spend in this world, I just cannot bring myself to call him Rumpelstiltskin. I met him as Mr Gold, and called him 'Gold' pretty much every time I spoke to him.

"I'm with Regina on this one," he replies, smiling slightly in her direction. "I can't think of a better explanation." If I'm honest, I'm starting to get bored of everyone just backing up this theory. If nobody's going to come up with anything knew, we may as well just head back to Storybrooke to show Allison round. Which—I won't show it—but I'm really excited about. Showing her all of the places she's seen in our memories, and making knew memories in those places with her. What more could I want?

I say as much to the group, and they agree that we can start back to Storybrooke tomorrow morning, once everyone is well-rested. Even though time moves differently here, they still have a day and night system the same way everywhere else does.

As everyone starts to move away, I look helplessly at Allison, Mum and Dad, frustration growing inside me at the lack of independence I have. Even though we've entered a land of magic, Allison insists that I keep the cast on my arm and leg for a few more days, to ensure they've healed well enough. I don't have the heart to contradict her when I've only known her a few weeks. I'm still trying to build a relationship with her, and I don't want to ruin that. 

Allison

I notice Emma's look towards me as I turn to leave, begging me to help her without making it obvious. Even though I've barely known her a month, I already feel like I can read her really well and, if I'm wrong, I'm about to make a pretty big mistake.

I hang behind from everyone else, hoping that I look subtle and casual as I wander over to Emma and grab the handles of her wheelchair, pushing slowly.

She thanks me sincerely, smiling up at me, and I can't help but think back to the job that I've just walked out of. I'm grateful that I met my parents, even though I never imagined in a million years that they'd be Snow White and her prince, but I already miss the warm feeling I get from caring for people and helping them get better. Alright, there were some people we couldn't treat, and there were some tragic deaths that still haunt me, but it was a good job.

"What are you thinking, sis?" Emma asks, smirking at the use of 'sis'. It still feels weird to have a massive family, and part of me thinks I will never get used to it.

"Just reminiscing about my job," I reply, trying not to make too big a deal of it. I don't want anyone to make a fuss.

"You know," she starts, turning in her chair to face me, forcing me to stop, "you don't have to stay in Storybrooke. I want to show you around and introduce you to everyone, but you could go back to New York, or move somewhere completely different. I'd just want to stay in touch." I smile at the thought. I could move somewhere in Illinois and start a job in emergency medicine, which I've always enjoyed. I love that state because it's where I grew up, so I feel like I have a personal connection to it.

"Thanks."


	9. Chapter 9

Emma

A couple of weeks later, having stayed for a while to catch up with Gideon, we wake at dawn (or as close to dawn as you can get in this strange realm). Sitting up in bed, I attempt to adjust the cast on my arm and swing my legs round, making sure that my leg stays supported by the fluffy mattress that materialised as we walked into the room last night.

He gets out of bed, throwing a shirt over his head before helping me out of bed and into my wheelchair. I felt like such a pain last night when Gideon had to give us a bedroom on the ground floor so that I didn't have to navigate any stairs.

"Thanks, Killian," I say as I adjust my position in the chair. Some people say they envy people in wheelchairs because they get to sit down all day, but let me tell you: it's not what it seems. By the end of the first full day I spent in the chair, I was so uncomfortable and all I wanted was to stand up, but I couldn't.

Killian leaves after I tell him to meet me in the living room, and I gingerly use my good arm to help me stand up. To start with, I put all of the weight on my right leg but, as a trial to see how quickly magic can heal me, I start putting more weight on my broken one.

By the time my weight is spread evenly, it still doesn't hurt, so I magic a singular crutch to use with my right arm and walk slowly into the living room.

Allison is already waiting there with Killian, and a look of horror crosses her face when she sees me.

"Are you insane?" She asks incredulously, rushing over to me and sitting me down in a chair. I roll my eyes at her reaction.

"I'm fine," I retort, preparing a full explanation in my head. "I tried it out in my room a minute ago. I can put the right amount of weight on it, so it's fine. Magic heals things more quickly." I smirk at her overprotectiveness and the ease with which she falls back into the roll of my doctor. Shaking her head at my stubbornness, she sighs in defeat.

"Fine," she concedes, "But any sign of weakness or discomfort and you're back in that chair." 

Allison

I watch Emma wander around the living room with mixed feelings. The biggest part if me is trying to fight the doctor instincts I have in exchange for being happy that she's regained some independence, while simultaneously marvelling at the magic used to heal her more quickly. However, another part of me is giving in to those doctor instincts and just begging to tell her to stay in the chair a while longer. Not just for her leg, but also because it's probably weaker than it was and, if she falls over, she could make her arm worse again.

Over the next hour, everyone else enters through the door in dribs and drabs, arriving from their various lodgings. Almost everyone seems to have similar reactions to me when they see Emma stood up, and her parents—my parents—try and fail to convince her to sit down.

Even across the room, I can hear her reply, "I've been sat down constantly for the past couple of weeks. Standing up is a relief." I smile. Even though I've only known Emma a few weeks, I feel like I know her really well. I've enjoyed taking the opportunity to talk to her, and compare our experiences as parentless children. Judging from the few tales she's recounted to me, I was very lucky to be adopted at a young age by good people, and to be able to stay there until I moved out as an adult.

When everyone has arrived in the living room and the conversation has died down, Regina moves to the front, where everyone can see her, and gets our attention.

"Does everyone have everything they came with?" Saying that, she reminds me of my mother when we used to go on holiday.

Having gotten confirmation from us all, she uses a magic bean to open a portal back to Storybrooke. She turns back around.

"Let's go." We move as one and step through the swirling reds and oranges and golds back to Storybrooke.

Emma

Hobbling out the portal, I relish the familiarity of Main Street. The Edge of Realms was fine, but meeting Gideon brought up some memories I'd rather keep locked up. And the fact that he didn't remember or even known anything that happened between us didn't help. Apparently, Gold and Belle didn't think it necessary to fill him in.

Leaning my head on Killian's shoulder, I turn my face towards his, smiling up at him.

"It's good to be home, isn't it?" I ask, not bothering to hide my relief. He'd probably notice it, even if I tried.

"Aye, love. It is." He smiles his signature smile and wraps his arm around my waist.

I look over at Allison and feel awful when I notice the lost look on her face. I wriggle out of Killian's grip and limp over to her, thinking—although I'd never admit it—that I could do with a rest in that chair again now.

"Hey," I say as I come within hearing range. She turns, a faraway look still evident on her face. "Are you alright?" She looks like she has something on her mind.

She shakes her head, focussing. "I'm fine," she starts, facing me completely now. "I'm just thinking about what I'm going to do next. I don't think Storybrooke is the right place for me to stay."

I laugh, so hard I nearly lose my balance, and I grab onto my crutch for dear life. "That's fair enough." At her words, I can't help but think of the time I almost abducted Henry and took him with me to Boston. I was convinced Storybrooke was doing more harm than good for both of us. It turned out it wasn't, but for some people the close-knit community and complicated family relations are too much. I still can't work out how I went from a complete loner to a major part of this small town.

"I might go to Chicago, or somewhere in Illinois to work in Emergency Medicine. I grew up there, so I think it would be nice to go back." I nod, my thoughts racing. However much I've only met Allison, in some respects, I feel like I've known her longer than I've known myself. 

Allison

I explain my thoughts to Emma as best I can, and can't help but notice the hint of sadness in her eyes when I mention moving away. However, she doesn't mention it at all. Instead, she encourages me, smiling all the while.

"I can see you working in the ER. There's just something about you. I don't know what." She blushes and turns her head away, letting her hair cover the blush as it spreads across her face.

"Thanks."

Later that day, I'm sat cross-legged on my bed in Emma's spare room. I sign the email and place my finger on the send button. I hesitate for a few seconds, before I click it and close the laptop.

I head down to the living room, where Emma and Killian are watching Netflix with Henry and Hope. Not that Hope is taking much in, as she's fast asleep.

"I applied for the job," I say as a greeting. Emma jumps up as quickly as she can with a recently healed broken leg and shuffles over to hug me. I can feel her smile against my shoulder, and it feels great to know someone is this happy for me. I laugh. "I haven't even got it yet." She backs out of our embrace and grins.

"I know. I just want to make the most of you being here and me still being able to congratulate you in person."

I sigh. "I know I've only just met you, but I don't think a quiet life in a small town is the right thing for me. I enjoy caring for people too much."

"Not too much."

"Really?"

"Yes," she seems to emphasise the word, and I watch her face carefully to see if I think she actually means it. "I don't think you can ever care too much, especially in your job. As long as you don't become patronising or overbearing, I don't think you can overdo the whole caring thing."

I giggle in a really stereotypically teenage-girl way at how she refers to being nice as a 'caring thing'.

"The whole caring thing?" I mock, and we both burst out laughing. 

Emma

Allison stays with us for a few weeks, only leaving once to travel to Chicago for an interview for the ER job she applied for.

She came home from that really happy with how it had gone, and a week later had an email asking her how long it would be before she could start. She told them two weeks' time. That was a week and six days ago.

Last night, we had a goodbye party at Granny's. It was quite strange, as the people who've known her the longest—me and the people who came to Princeton—have only known her for a couple of months, but we've grown even closer with nothing important happening around town. It's given us time to properly get to know each other.

This morning, we gather at the town line to say goodbye. I offered to drive to Chicago with her, but she decided she wanted to just say goodbye here. It reminds me of the time after Neverland before Zelena, when Regina sent me and Henry to New York with new memories.

"Call us when you get there. I want to see your new place," I say, smiling so that I don't cry. I've only just met my sister and now she's leaving. At least she's leaving under happy circumstances.

"Definitely," she agrees, slipping into the driver's seat of her car. I'm not entirely sure how Regina managed to get it down here, but she did somehow. I bend down and hug her one last time, my arm and leg now both fully healed.

"See you at Christmas!"

We stand at the town line as she drives away, waving until she turns the corner and is out of sight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to double update today because I finished this chapter on Friday, and this is the end of the story.   
> Thank you so much for sticking with this book until the end. Some of it felt to me like it dragged, but I hope it wasn't too bad. Please comment any thoughts--constructive criticism is welcome.   
> Thank you as well for 100 hits before I even finished this book!
> 
> oliviacat3


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